Random is a Real Thing
by SarahJeanne7
Summary: Felicity's house gets broken into. It has nothing to do with Arrow, just a random occurrence. But she gets scared throughout the night and calls Oliver who races to her. Just a quick Olicity one shot that ran through my head and went completely out of control! I'm just going through Arrow and Olicity withdrawals I guess. NOW UPDATED AND COMPLETED! ENJOY!
1. Random Is A Real Thing

_**This is just a random one shot that popped into my head. I just wanted something that proved that there are dangers in the real world for the people who help arrow. Maybe show Oliver that it would be better for him to be with Felicity and protect her than not to be with her and have her be alone if something ever happened. Anyways completely AU, and I'm not sure how long it will be. **_

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Arrow, any of the characters, or anything that is or may be affiliated with either one. I just like to borrow the characters once in a while. Well, a lot lately.**

**Random is a Real Thing**

"Is there anyone you want me to call for you?" Felicity jumped when the officer touched her shoulder gently. She stared at him for a moment until she realized that he had spoken to her and she tried to think about what it was he said.

"Oh, um, no. No, I'll be fine. Thank you." She didn't sound very convincing even to herself, but the man gave her a nod before he and the two men who had first come gathered their things and left. Felicity locked the door behind them but then let out a small laugh and shake of her head. What good was it to lock the door anyway? Whoever had broken into her house earlier tonight hadn't been stopped by the dead bolt. With that thought she but her lower lip in trepidation until an idea occurred to her and she hurried into the dining room and grabbed one of the chairs. She jammed it under the door knob and backed away to see her handiwork. That would work, right? If they even tried to get in again. Which they wouldn't. Probably. Right? It wasn't like there was much left to steal anyway. They had taken her laptop, jewelry and her tablet. The one she hardly ever went ANYWHERE without. The one day she had forgotten it at home. She had already erased everything off them remotely that could connect her to Oliver being the Arrow. Not that she kept anything on them anymore. Everything was on her computers at the foundry now. She could have tracked them, but that wasn't even the point anymore, it was the violation of her home. Her one place in the world that she felt safe and comfortable. Now? Now she didn't even feel she could trust the locks on her door. She knew she should call Oliver or Digg but she couldn't bring herself to bother them with something like this. She wasn't in danger and it didn't have anything to do with the Arrow so why bother them late at night. Felicity sighed as she made her way to her bedroom. She wasn't in there for long before she was shoving her dresser in front of the closed door, just in case.

Felicity was tossing and turning for over an hour before she finally gave up on the idea of getting any real sleep. She kept thinking she was hearing someone trying to get in. She would get up and pace around her room for ten minutes before realizing it was all in her head and laying back down. It was now 2 o'clock in the morning and even though Felicity was more exhausted than she ever remembered being, she knew sleep wasn't coming. It didn't help that it was storming outside on top of everything else. Every creak of a branch against the house sent her pulse skyrocketing. She pushed the heels of her hands against her eyes in frustration. Then she heard a thump. She flung her hands down by her sides as her eyes shot open in terror. Were they back? Should she call the police? But what if she was wrong? She shook her head. Felicity had herself convinced her mind was playing tricks on her once again when there was another loud noise. She felt an involuntary shriek come out of her before she threw her hands up to her mouth to stifle any other noise. Her instincts screaming, she reached for her phone and dialed the one person she was completely and utterly confident in.

Oliver rolled over in his bed with a groan. A quick glance at the clock on his bedside table showed it to be about 2:30 am and he quickly became fully awake and snatched the phone. Seeing Felicity's name and picture on the screen sent him lunging out of bed, prepared for anything.  
"Felicity? What's happening?"  
"Oliver. I need you. My house, I-"  
"Three minutes, Felicity. Hang on until I get there whatever it is."

Oliver got into his car instead of on the bike because of the rain. He couldn't be worrying about driving cautiously when Felicity could be in danger. He was turning onto her road in about two minutes and pulled over to the shoulder and stopped his car. He wanted to case the house on the chance anyone was outside trying to get in. Or in case they were already inside. _Please, no._ The thought spurred Oliver to move quicker and survey the house as much as possible before entering. He heard and saw nothing so he made his way to the front door. He was still worried about someone holding Felicity inside, so he decided against knocking and attempted to open the door silently when he realized the deadbolt was in place. Oliver picked the lock in a matter of moments and once again tried to push the door open. He was met with resistance and shoved a little harder. He felt along the other side of the door and his brows furrowed in confusion when he realized it was one of Felicity's dining chairs. Oliver realized there was no one in the house and yelled Felicity's name as he slammed himself into the front door and it came open, probably breaking one of her dining chairs in the process. She could yell at him after he made sure she was safe and sound and this was all a big misunderstanding.

Felicity couldn't stop staring at the clock, waiting for three minutes to go by and for Oliver's car to pull in the driveway. She hadn't heard any other sounds since she had called him, but she had herself into such a state of mind, she was no longer thinking rationally. When she thought she saw a shadow pass by the curtains of her bedroom, she gasped and backed herself into her closet, shutting the door behind her. She tried to shake off the fear and look for anything that she could use as a weapon. The only thing she could find was a beat up tennis racket. All she had to do was wait for Oliver to get there and everything would be fine. No one was going to get by the chair blocking the front door and even if they did, there was the dresser in front of her bedroom door. That would certainly hold them off long enough for Oliver to get there. If not, she had a last ditch effort to hit them with everything they had with the tennis racket if they came into her bedroom. Her eyes widened and her breathing became erratic when she heard a cracking noise that she realized was the chair blocking the front door. She heard a yell and then silence and waited to see what would happen.

There was nothing greeting Oliver except the sound of silence as he took in the surroundings. He began walking around the house, looking for any signs of Felicity and coming up empty. The last room to search would be her bedroom. He figured if she was there she would have heard him yell her name and come through the door. Felicity would have said something by now, but the chair blocking the door showed that someone had to be here. Right? Oliver turned the knob to her bedroom door and once again met resistance from the other side. He slammed himself into it a few times before he was able to make an opening wide enough to slide himself through. He took in the dresser pushed against the door and began to get an idea for what was happening. Oliver felt stupid for not figuring it out sooner, but none of it was making any sense. Someone had tried to get into the house and these were the measures Felicity had taken to protect herself? He still didn't see her and was pulling his phone out of his pocket to call her again when he caught a quick motion out of the corner of his eye. He reacted fast enough to catch the tennis racket that came flying at his head and put his other arm up and grabbed the fist that came next. He found himself staring into the wide and obviously terrified eyes of his favorite partner.

"Felicity." Her name came out like a sigh.

"Oh god, Oliver! I thought he came back!" She fell into his arms and he clung to her as tightly as she was to him.

"So someone tried to break in? Why didn't you call me right away, instead of trying to block the doors? Why the hell didn't you call the cops? What is going on, Felicity?"  
"Well, when I came home from the foundry earlier tonight, I noticed that my lock looked like it had been messed with and I called the cops before going in. I didn't want to call you or Dig unless it had something to do with you being the Arrow, and-"  
"Why? It doesn't matter what it had to do with, you should have called me."  
"Well it turned out to just be a random robbery and now I realize that I was just being stupid and I'm sorry to have dragged you out of bed. I mean, I'm assuming you were in bed. Sleeping. But I guess you could have been not sleeping. Or, you know, sleeping with-"  
"Felicity! I was sleeping. Alone. But that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what I'm doing. If you need me, you call. If you just want me here, you call. What happened next?"  
"They took my laptop and my tablet. They didn't have anything important on them really but I remotely wiped them anyway, just in case. I thought about tracking them, but it just wasn't high on my list of priorities at the time. The cops left and I just wanted to sleep but I didn't trust the lock anymore, so I wedged one of my dining chairs under it. Which I see is now broken, but that doesn't-"  
"Yeah, I'll fix it later. What happened next?"  
"Well I went into my room and was really paranoid about whoever it was coming back and still didn't trust the chair under the front door, so I pushed my dresser in front of my bedroom door. It made me feel a little better but I still couldn't sleep. I kept thinking I was hearing someone outside. I kept telling myself it was just the storm, but then I heard noises that really made me think they were back, so I called you. I waited, and then saw someone walk by the window so I went into the closet and grabbed the first thing I could to protect myself in case they got into my bedroom. The rest you know." 

Oliver sighed for a whole jumble of reasons. Firstly, he was glad that Felicity was safe and there wasn't anyone trying to get to her. Secondly, he felt badly because he had probably caused her more fear than any of the noises she'd heard outside had. And lastly because he was pretty agitated that she didn't just call him in the first place, then half of these problems would never have happened. But that didn't matter anymore. Comforting Felicity and making sure she felt safe and got some sleep were his main priorities. Yelling at her could come later, when she was surer on her feet. He pushed the dresser completely out from in front of the door and headed out of the room. Oliver could hear the quiet padding of Felicity's feet as she followed him to her entryway. He picked up the pieces of the dining chair and brought them into the kitchen to be fixed at a later time. He relocked the door and began walking back towards her room, grabbing her hand and pulling her behind him. Oliver pulled her into her room, shutting the door behind them and led her to the bed, pulling the covers down. Silently, he got her to lay down and covered her up before walking to the other side of the bed and pulling off the shirt and pants that he had haphazardly thrown on. He was left in his boxers as he slid into the bed beside her and pulled her into him. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed soothing circles up and down her back.

"Go to sleep, Felicity. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, or anyone get to you."  
"There's not much point in sleeping now, I have to get up and ready for work in a few hours. You have a few important meetings today. I'm so sorry for getting you out of bed in-"  
"Stop. We're going to have a discussion about you deciding against calling me to begin with. After we get some sleep. And meetings can be rescheduled. Neither one of us will be going in to work today." 

Oliver reached behind him where he had set his phone and sent a quick message to Diggle letting him know that Felicity had a problem late that night and he was staying with her, so they wouldn't be in to work. He asked him to let Isabelle know so she could reschedule his meetings. He told him he would be shutting his phone off for the day and would see them later that night at the foundry and explain everything then. He didn't expect a reply, but wasn't really surprised either, when a few moments later Dig texted back that Oliver most certainly would be explaining but that he would take care of everything as long as Oliver took care of "their favorite girl". Oliver smiled to himself and turned to tell Felicity that everything was taken care of when he realized she had already fallen asleep in his arms. She had herself tucked neatly into his side and he found himself pulling her just a little bit closer and continuing to stroke her back.

"I'll always be here to protect you, Felicity."

_**Well, that's it I hope you enjoyed it! I have a few more ideas for one shots I would like to do. There might even be a multi chap story or two coming. I haven't decided yet, it all depends on how it works out. But if anyone has any ideas they want me to write out or give my best shot at doing, just give me a shout out! Thank you guys for reading!**_


	2. Sometimes Things Just Happen

_**Okay, I have never had so many views on a story and I cannot believe multiple people asked if I would make this a multi chapter one shot! Thank you guys so much for the unbelievable support, it is appreciated more than I can express. So, I sat down and thought this out and I am not sure how many chapters this is going to be, but I have decided to leave off each chapter in a way that it seems possible for it to end. So, read on and enjoy! This is because you asked!**_

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Arrow, any of the characters or anything that is or could be afffiliated with Arrow.**

**Sometimes Things Just Happen**

Felicity woke up feeling warm and content in a way that she didn't ever remember being before. It took her a few moments to remember everything that had happened the night before and why she had woken up with one Oliver Queen wrapped around her better than a blanket. He was more or less on top of her, so she wasn't sure how she would get out of bed without waking him. He seemed to be sleeping soundly and comfortably, and Felicity knew that he hadn't had that often since he had gotten back from the island. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was already 10:30. She couldn't believe they had slept so late. Felicity had a million thoughts running through her mind about last night and Oliver, work, meetings, getting a new laptop and tablet or tracking hers down.

"Go back to sleep, Felicity."  
"Oliver. How did you sleep?" Felicity was so nervous, her words came out almost in a stutter.

"Well the fact that I slept at all, says a lot. How did you sleep?"  
"Better than ever. You being on top of me felt- I mean sleeping on me. With. With me. And, I...3..2...1. Thank you for staying last night. You really didn't have to."  
"Yeah, we're still going to talk about that."

"Talk about what?"  
"You not calling me. I should have been the first call you made. Or, okay well the second because calling the cops was probably the best idea."

"I didn't want you thinking I was helpless. That I need you all the time."  
"I don't think you are helpless at all, and maybe I want you to need me. I mean, I want you to admit when you need me."  
"That's the thing, Oliver, if I were to admit that I needed you I would have to admit that I always need you. That I hate it when you're not around and that's the biggest reason why I spend so much time either at the office or the foundry. Always coming up with some stupid excuse why I need to be there."  
"Felicity you don't need an excuse to spend time with me."  
"I have gone pretty much my whole life without needing anyone. I didn't have a choice at first, and then it just became the way I lived. It's not easy for me to admit that ever since I met you I, there's just a - . Dammit I love you. And you have to know that. I am not exactly good at hiding how I feel."  
"No, you're not."  
"So you have known how I felt?"  
"Pretty much. I mean, I wasn't sure but I had a pretty good idea."  
"And you said nothing. Which means that you obviously -"  
"Don't."

"Don't what, Oliver?"  
"Don't you dare say that means I don't love you back. I don't wear my heart on my sleeve, Felicity. I am actually pretty good at being cold and distant."  
"I've noticed."  
"I don't want to feel. Feelings complicate everything and I already have enough complications. But one look at you and I want to spill everything. You were the first person to get a genuine smile out of me when I came back from the island. I took one look at you in your office and heard you ramble and I was gone."  
"That was probably one of the most embarrassing days of my life. And that's saying something, trust me."  
"It shouldn't be. Because it's one of the best days of mine."  
"Why do you do that to yourself? Stop yourself from feeling? Whether you want to admit it or not, Oliver, you're human and we all have feelings. You can try to stop them or shove them down as much as you want, but that won't make them go away. You can only shove them down so far and for so long before they just come bursting out. I have been kidnapped and in car accidents. Arrested for aiding a vigilante, almost had a horrible drug injected into my neck, and almost had a building collapse on me. Last night, my house was broken into."  
"Yeah, I know. I know all of those things, Felicity. What are you trying to-"

"I'm trying to explain to you that I am in danger because I help the Arrow. But I'm also in danger because the world can just be a dangerous place sometimes. So whether or not we're together, I am still going to put my life on the line every day because I help the Arrow. So whether or not you admit how you feel doesn't change that."  
"I hate that you are in danger. That's why I didn't want to get you involved in the first place."  
"Well, it's too late for that and I'm not going anywhere. I will never stop helping you. And I will also never stop loving you, whether you love me back or not."  
"I do. Love you, I mean. But I don't know-"  
"No, Oliver. No buts about it. For once, just be who you are. Allow yourself to feel and to just be. Just because you are the Arrow doesn't mean that's all you are. You say you can't be both the Arrow and Oliver Queen and that the more you are the Arrow, the more you lose a part of being Oliver Queen. I think that's a load of crap. Because you are both. It's just the sides that you choose to allow people to see. But the people who are close to you, who know all your secrets, we know the difference. I know the difference. I see all of you. Every part. Even the ugly ones that you try to hide from the world."  
"Relationships don't really ever work for me."  
"There is always going to be a crisis, some big bad out there wanting to take down the Arrow or take down Oliver Queen. And I'm either going to be by your side as the techy side kick or as the executive assistant. Either way, I'm going to be by your side as much as possible."  
"I know that. And I know that I wouldn't have come this far without you and Diggle."  
"No, you wouldn't have. But I wouldn't have come as far as I have without you. So what do we do here?"

"We feel."

Before Felicity could say anymore, Oliver's mouth was on hers in a hungry kiss that left her breathless. They didn't need to know what the future was going to hold, they just needed to know that the other was going to be there. Eventually they both got up and Oliver made breakfast while Felicity was in the shower. He looked at her broken dining room chair hopelessly, figuring he was just going to have to go out and buy her another one. There wasn't really a possibility for a whole lot of fixing to be done with it at this point. Oliver turned his phone back on and was surprised not to see any messages or voice mails from Isabelle. He called Diggle, who answered on the first ring.

"You ready to explain now?"  
"Yeah, but first, thank you. For covering for Felicity and I this morning. I owe you one."  
"You made me deal with an angry Isabelle. You owe me five. And an explanation."

Oliver gave a laugh before launching everything that had happened the night before. He told John he had spent the night, but he left out the part about their sleeping arrangements and the kisses they had shared. Although, he knew he was going to have to open up about it eventually, and he had a feeling that John was not going to be surprised about the new development in his and Felicity's relationship. They agreed to meet at the foundry later that afternoon and figure out who had done this to Felicity and take care of them. Oliver hung up the phone and turned around to a freshly showered Felicity.

"Hey. I made breakfast."  
"I see that. Thank you. What did John have to say?"  
"He took care of everything at the office this morning. Told Isabelle that I had a family emergency and that I sent you out to run errands to help with one of the meetings."  
"Hmm. Sounds like his cover stories are about as good as yours."

"Hey! Mine weren't that bad."  
"No, of course not. Lots of people run out of sports bottles."

"Eat. We have a long day ahead."  
"Why? Has something happened?"  
"Yeah. Your house was broken into, remember? You are going to track down your tablet and your laptop so we can get them back and figure out who stole them to begin with. And then I am going to find this guy and offer my own punishment before turning him over to detective Lance. Who you should probably call by the way."  
"My laptop and tablet have probably already been sold on the street or to a pawn shop and I don't think the Arrow should be concerning himself with one home invasion. You do realize how many of those there are in this city a day, right? Are you going to deal with every one?"  
"I hope that someday I can take the crime rate down so low that I can deal with every break in, yeah."  
"Good luck with that. And why should I call Quentin?"  
"Because John said he came by the office looking for you this morning. He wanted you to help him with some case and John told him about last night. He was worried and was going to head right over her, but John reassured him that I was here and had taken care of it for the moment. The two of you have gotten close, he cares about you. He is probably still worried and won't feel better until you call him."  
"You're probably right. I'll go do it now. And I think we have just really bonded because of Sara. And there's just something about him. He is the first real father influence in my life since Walter."  
"While you're doing that, I'm gonna go shower and then we can head right to the foundry. Does that sound okay?"  
"Yeah, that works." 

When they walked into the foundry about an hour later, they found Roy training and Diggle running a search on one of Felicity's main computer. He was probably the only one who could touch them without Felicity using her loud voice. Felicity and Diggle together were able to track her laptop and tablet to the same pawn shop.

"Clearly he isn't a very experienced criminal. Not a very smart one, at least." Felicity said with a shake of her head. Oliver walked up behind Felicity's chair and watched as she tapped into the security feed to see if they could get a good look at the person's face. He watched with pride as Felicity got a clear snapshot of his face and ran it through a facial recognition program. He saw Roy come over on the other side of Felicity to take a look at the guy's rap sheet.

"Thaddeus Cable. Arrested multiple times for gang related activities. It says here he has been tied to the mayor. Why would Sebastian Blood have anything to do with the leader of a gang?" Roy looked to Oliver as he asked the question. He knew the to of them had been friends at one point and wondered if maybe this whole thing _did_ have something to do with Oliver after all.

"I don't know, but I damn well am going to find out if he had anything to do with sending him to Felicity's." Oliver stated this as he was already gearing up. Felicity spun around in her chair to face him and spoke up.

"Oliver, wait. I think I know why Blood would do this. If he did, I mean."  
"What are you talking about, Felicity?"  
"About a week ago, Sebastian came to me and offered me a job within the Mayor's office. He said he knew that I had graduated at the top of my class at MIT and that I was wasting talent as an executive assistant at Queen Consolidated. I told him there was no way I would ever leave the company and he didn't seem too pleased with the answer no."

"What kind of job did he offer you?"  
"He said he needed someone who knew their way around a computer, but he wouldn't tell me why unless I agreed to take the job. After I told him no, I could tell he was mad but he didn't say anything more. He just walked out."  
"Don't worry. I _will _get to the bottom of this. Roy, suit up."

Felicity watched as they both ran up the stairs and turned to look at John. He gave her a reassuring smile as he walked away. Felicity had the utmost confidence in Oliver's abilities and let out a sigh of relief that at least they were getting some answers.

_**Okay, so once again this fic is running wild on me. There will definitely be at least one more chapter.**_


	3. Life Is Funny Sometimes

_**Okay, so this might be the last chapter. I hope you guys have enjoyed this so far, and once again, thank you so much for all of the support you have shown! Read on and enjoy!**_

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Arrow or any of it's characters or anything else that is or may be affiliated with Arrow.**

**Life Is Funny That Way**

"Sebastian Blood." Oliver had said it in the arrow voice but he was angry enough that this man he thought had been his friend could be responsible for Felicity's fear, he probably didn't need the voice modulator to sound angry. Sebastian turned from his desk and looked at Oliver and Roy with a slight amount of fear.

"Arrow. And Red Arrow?" Sebastian had heard of the man in red but had never heard a name.

"It's Arsenal." Roy said angrily.

"Okay. What have I done that requires the presence of both of Starling City's resident vigilantes in my office this late at night?" Sebastian didn't want to let on that he was afraid of them.

"Felicity Smoak. What is it you want with her?" Oliver said, trying to hold back his rage.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean. Is it that wrong of me to offer her a job? A better job than the one she has now?" Sebastian was nervous that they would find out about him ordering a man to scare her.

"We know about Thaddeus Cable." Roy said it confidently. He knew they had Blood.

"We know you hired him to scare Miss Smoak." Oliver let some of his rage show through his voice.

"Oh I get it. You are upset because Miss Smoak is involved with your nightly activities. You don't want anyone coming along and showing you she could work for someone better. Why don't you also go after Oliver Queen? He has her working all kinds of hours, I was simply offering her a better work environment." Sebastian said it smugly.

"She chooses to work for Queen. She said no to you. I find it odd after saying no, her home was broken into. What exactly is it you're looking for?" Roy spoke more than Oliver most of the time anyway, this time it was because Oliver didn't want to give away too much emotion.

"Well, I certainly hope she is all right. But I still don't see what this has to do with me. Miss Smoak has gotten herself involved with people like yourselves who have many enemies. She doesn't exactly take a disguise when she helps." Sebastian thought maybe he could get himself out of this.

"You didn't deny knowing Cable. You also don't seem surprised with news of her break in." Oliver took a step forward as he said it. He had had enough of these games.

There were a few moments of silence when the three of them just stood glaring at each other. Sebastian became aware that it didn't actually matter what his answers were, they already knew everything. Everything except why he had done it. That's what they wanted. Well, if he couldn't get out of it, he would not go down without a fight. He tried to subtly reach behind his back and pull out the gun he always carried on him.

Roy saw the movement before Oliver did and took a flying leap towards Blood. Oliver yelled out for him to stop but a gunshot rang out as Roy and Sebastian fell to the floor. Oliver sprinted to them and pulled Roy off of Sebastian. Roy looked stunned and Oliver's eyes widened as he saw Blood had hit him in the left shoulder. He pressed both of Roy's hands down on the wound and told him to apply pressure. He looked to Sebastian and saw the fall to the floor had knocked him out cold. Oliver pulled his phone out and called Diggle as he tied Sebastian up.

"Oliver? What's goin' on?" Diggle asked worriedly. He knew something wasn't right.

"Blood shot Roy. I'm tying him up as we speak. We are gonna have to interrogate him back at the lair. Roy should be okay. He may need some stitches, but he's currently able to apply pressure to the wound himself." Oliver said everything in a rush.

"What do you need me to do?" Diggle asked.

"I need you to meet me at Blood's office as soon as possible. I'm going to need help to get both of them back to the lair." Oliver finished tying up Sebastian and turned back to Roy.

"On the way." Diggle said before hanging up.

Felicity was sitting, listening to John's end of the conversation but unfortunately, that didn't give her a whole hell of a lot of information. She waited for him to hang up the phone so he would tell her the conversation he just had, but he started taking off up the stairs.

"Hey!" Felicity yelled after him as she started towards the stairs.

"We'll all be back soon, Felicity. You need to stay here!" Diggle yelled on his way out.

Felicity just went back to her chair and sat down in a heap. She gave a sigh of frustration as she stared up the stairs. She was so sick of not being able to do anything. _No!_ She thought to herself. _I am not going to sit here and do nothing any more. I'm going to show them all that I can hold my own._

Felicity whipped back around to her computers and begin typing furiously. She was able to track down Thaddeus Cable through various traffic cameras around the city. She tracked him into the Glades and used a few more of her hacking skills to find out he had holed up in one of the rundown apartment buildings there. She debated with herself for a few minutes before she turned around and walked to one of the various rooms in the foundry. She pulled out a pair of black jeans, a black turtleneck and put them on. She paired them with a pair of black leather heeled boots. Felicity turned around and stopped short. She gazed at the leather jacket hanging up on the wall. The one that hadn't been touched since the last time Sara wore it. Felicity bit her bottom lip, unsure of whether or not she should wear it. Then she thought about Sara and how she wanted to help Felicity stand up for herself, to fight on her own, and knew that she would want Felicity to wear the jacket. She put it on and took a deep breath, remembering her friend and closed her eyes to fight the emotion. When Felicity opened her eyes, there was a sense of calm about her, as though Sara was right there beside her, encouraging her to go out and do what she had to. She walked out of the Foundry, grabbing the weapons she felt comfortable with on the way out.

Dig was half carrying Roy as Oliver dragged a still unconscious Sebastian Blood down into the Foundry. Diggle pointed towards one of the rooms in the back and Oliver nodded silently. Oliver had him tied to the chair within moments and walked back into the main room to check on Roy when he realized his favorite blonde was nowhere in sight.

"Dig. Where's Felicity?" Oliver asked the question with furrowed brows.

"I left her down here with the order to stay here." Diggle said it with a note of uncertainty.

"Ugh. You gotta find her Oliver... Check her computer." Roy groaned out as John began stitching his shoulder up.

Oliver nodded as he went over to her computers to see what she had pulled up on her screens. He saw traffic cams paused on the face of the man they had identified as Thaddeus Cable. He looked around the area and realized he knew where it was. The glades. He pounded on the table in frustration. Oliver knew exactly where Felicity had gone, and he had a pretty good feeling that he knew why. He took off out the door with a command for John to question Sebastian and do whatever it took to get the information out of him.

Felicity had parked a block away from the building and was silently making her way through the glades. She heard a multitude of noises that would have worried her had she been on the streets of Starling City at this hour, but she knew they were normal here. There were many homeless people that still lived in the desolate area that was the glades. After the explosions, people had been left with nothing, and without the help of the city, they had nowhere to go. So they stayed and survived by any means they could. Felicity felt a pang of sadness for these people and everything they had lost before she pushed it to the side for the sake of the "mission" she had given herself. She knew she had to focus and have her a-game ready if she was going to succeed. Felicity realized she had gotten lost in her thoughts and looked up to find herself at the building she needed to be. She walked around the back side of it and was about to go around the corner to the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder whip her around and against the brick side of the building. She looked up in fear to see a dirty stranger holding her there and realized he was talking to her. It took a moment for her to understand what he was saying.

"Give me your money! I won't ask you again, bitch!" The man gritted out to her, spitting while he spoke.

"And I'm only going to ask you once to get your hands off me!" Felicity reeled in the fear and found her inner anger. She shoved the man's chest as hard as she could and he stumbled back. Felicity steeled herself for a fight. She could do this. The man came at her again with a growl and Felicity dodged his punch and watched as his fist hit the brick. He pulled back and howled at the pain and Felicity took the opportunity to throw a right hook of her own. The man crumbled to the ground and Felicity was unbelievably proud of herself and allowed herself to revel in it for a few moments before continuing around the side of the building.

Felicity entered as silently as possible through the door and looked around at all the destruction of the building that was once a group of apartments. She couldn't see a lot in the dark and she pulled her phone out so she could pull up the blueprints of the building she had downloaded onto it. She wished she could use it as a flashlight but she didn't want to give away her position. Using the blueprints, Felicity was able to find her way to the stairs and started her way up them, keeping aware of her surroundings as much as possible. She was doing her best to act brave and not admit to herself that she was terrified and was second guessing her decision. Felicity gathered her inner strength and pushed on.

Oliver sprinted across rooftops as far as he could until he reached the Glades. Most of the buildings were only half standing and he had to find his way down to the ground and silently continued on. He was terrified for Felicity and the need to get to her before she got hurt drove him to move faster. He pulled his phone out and sighed in relief that he had the rational thought to download the blueprints Felicity had obviously gotten for herself. He made his way to the building and took in the look of it. It looked like it was barely standing as it was, it certainly wouldn't make it through too much excitement. Oliver went around the back entrance and stopped short at the man unconscious on the ground. He quickly bent down to make sure he still had a pulse. He seemed fine, just out cold. Oliver didn't know if Felicity had done this, or if something had happened to her, and this man had just been caught in the cross fire. He took a deep breath and made his way into the building and over to the stairs. Oliver had gone up three steps when he began hearing sounds of a fight coming from right above him. He readied his bow and sprinted up the remaining stairs.

Felicity rounded the what was left of the post on the stairs and saw a door with light streaming underneath it about five feet away. She silently turned the knob, surprised it wasn't locked. Either Cable was cocky enough that he felt no one would dare break in, or he was stupid enough to think he was safe here. Felicity pushed the door open as silently as possible and cringed when it creaked. _Well,_ she told herself, _it's now or never_. Felicity hurried in, pulling two knives from her back as she charged into the main room. Cable had heard the sound of his door opening and was sprinting from the kitchen into his living room where he had left his gun. Felicity flung the knife, trying to stick the knife into the table in front of the gun to distract Cable from grabbing it. Instead he howled as the knife pinned his hand to the table and Felicity's eyes widened as she saw what she had done. She quickly tried to tamp down on everything except anger. She tried to remind herself that he had violated her sense of safety and privacy by breaking into her home and taking some of her most prized possessions. She took a moment too long and Cable had gripped the handle of the knife with his other hand and yanked it out of the table and himself and was now coming at her. Before Felicity had time to prepare herself, Cable had slammed her into the wall and was trying to stab her. She was holding his arm back with one hand and trying to maneuver her other hand around to get him first. Unfortunately, they were at a stalemate because they were both restraining the other one's hand and weren't getting anywhere. Felicity brought her knee up between them and slammed back with all the force she could muster. Cable reeled back in pain and Felicity took the opportunity to try and wiggle her way out from underneath him to get the upper hand. Before she could go far, she felt her arm yanked back and her head then reeled as she took the right hook to her cheek. Felicity's head struck the wall and she felt herself losing consciousness from the blow but still tried to defend herself. Cable was coming at her again and she brought her hand up that as holding the knife and sliced at whatever she could get. She once again heard him howl in anger and pain as he came at her again. Then he was gone.

Oliver came sprinting around the banister and saw the door to an apartment standing open and the sounds coming from inside. He ran harder and took only seconds to process the scene in front of him before tackling the man away from Felicity and to the ground. He quickly punched the man out, noting that he already had a few wounds that were still bleeding. Oliver used two of his cables and tied the man up similar to the way Blood had been. He once again pulled his phone out and called John as he turned to Felicity to check her over for serious injuries.

"You find her?" John answered worriedly.

"Yeah. I'm sending you the information, I need you or Roy to come out and meet me, if he's up to it." Oliver added the last bit in, remembering Roy's condition.

"He says he knows the area better and is on his way to you." John didn't hesitate to answer and hung up.

Felicity felt like she was stuck in a dark tunnel and couldn't tell which way was up, much less find her way out. She knew she had to pull herself out of this and beat down Thaddeus, but she felt like she was treading water, with no land anywhere near her. That's when she heard a voice calling out to her, asking her to wake up. Felicity would recognize that voice anywhere, and reveled in Oliver's voice telling her she needed to open her eyes for him. For Oliver, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do, so she fought that much harder to open her eyes and felt herself surfacing.

Oliver pulled Felicity into his arms and held her close.

"Felicity, I need you to wake up so I can yell at you for coming out here in the first place. Please." Oliver had been calling to her for a few minutes with little result.

"Ugh. If you're just going to yell at me, I'm going to stay blissfully unaware in your arms." Felicity groaned out. Oliver pulled back from where he had her face in his neck and his arms banded around her back. He took in her face and gave her a small smile before glancing at the bruise already forming on her right cheek.

"What were you thinking?" Oliver whispered quietly raged. Because no matter how angry he was at her, he couldn't bring himself to yell at her while she was injured. When she was better, definitely.

"I was thinking that I'm sick of being the one everyone takes care of because I can't take care of myself. I wanted to prove that I know enough that I can go out on my own and take care of at least one of my own problems. But, I suppose that I just proved I can't, didn't I?" Felicity closed her eyes tightly after she said the words, feeling ashamed and embarrassed as a few tears leaked out from her eyes.

"Hey, hey. I take care of you anyway I can because I love you, not because I think you can't take care of yourself. I know you can, I just don't want you to ever have to. I don't want you to take on problems on your own because that's why we're partners. We shoulder our problems together. You're the one that taught me we can't always do things alone. And I would have to say you proved you can kick ass with the best of them tonight." Oliver reassured her as he used a hand to wipe her tears away.

Oliver and Felicity were still holding on to each other when they heard someone coming up the stairs. Oliver was pretty sure it was Roy, but just in case he pulled a knife from his side and had it at the ready if he needed to defend Felicity or himself. He dropped them down when it was indeed Roy that came around the corner. He took in the scene around him and lifted a brow at Oliver.

"This whole picking criminals up to bring them back to the lair and interrogate them thing isn't going to become a habit, I hope?" Roy asked dryly.

"Shut up and help me get him back to the lair. I hope you brought the car and not the bike." Oliver growled.

"Yeah, I got the car. Parked it behind Barbie's." Roy said as he picked up Cable and began walking out.

Oliver picked Felicity up in his arms and she told him that she was more than capable of walking.

"Don't argue with me right now, Felicity." Oliver's tone brooked no argument and Felicity sighed reluctantly as she settled more comfortably in his arms. The group hurried out to the cars, and were lucky they didn't run into any more trouble on the way there. Oliver told Felicity about the man he had seen in the alley when he got there and if it had been her that knocked him out. She had answered that it was and he said that was another thing they would be talking about once they got back to the lair and checked her over. Roy heard them talking about it and said he definitely wanted to hear about that one. The man had been gone by the time Roy had arrived to the apartment building.

They got back to the lair and John had hugged Felicity tightly as soon as Oliver had set her on the med table. He began checking her over for a concussion and making sure nothing was broken. Cable had managed to slice Felicity near her collarbone. It wasn't deep and Diggle quickly and efficiently cleaned it out, and applied a small bandage to it. He cleaned her knuckles from where she had punched both the man in the alley, and Cable. Neither of them said a word the entire time, Felicity because she was afraid anything she said would set John off and John because he had been so worried about her and angry that she had taken off in the first place that he wanted to give himself a chance to calm down before he spoke.

Oliver had left Felicity in good hands and headed into the room where both Blood and Cable sat next to each other, tied up. He and Roy were watching them, trying to decide where to begin. Oliver stepped forward and got in Cable's face.

"Tell my why Blood hired you to attack Felicity Smoak." Oliver growled in the Arrow voice.

"I didn't attack her! She broke into my place and I was defending myself! Blood only hired me to scare her!" Cable was shrieking in fear.

"Why?! Why would he need to scare her?!" Oliver wanted answers. Now.

"Because she wouldn't work for him. He wanted me to convince her that as long as she worked for you and Oliver Queen she would be in danger. That the two of you have so many enemies, it would be better if she quit." The man spilled the words out so fast, Oliver and Roy had to take a few moments and let them sink in.

"Why did he have you steal her computers?" Roy questioned Cable.

"Because he needed some of her hacks." Cable was obviously willing to answer all questions. The men looked to Sebastian, who was sitting in his chair silently raging, unable to speak because of the gag Roy had shoved in his mouth.

"What did he want them for?" Oliver was beginning to get the picture, but wanted the confession from the men out loud. They were recording everything said in the room and were ready to call Lance as soon as they had what they needed.

"He wanted to break into the systems of Queen Consolidated and put a virus through the mainframe. The next time Smoak logged on, the whole place would shut down. Then Blood would be able to get any information he wanted off the computers. Business dealings, offshore accounts, information on the heavy hitters of Starling, whatever he wanted. I've told you everything I know, I swear! Please don't kill me!" Cable was almost in tears by the end of his rant.

"We aren't going to kill you. We're turning you over to the SCPD." Oliver rolled his eyes while speaking. He nodded to Roy and they walked towards the men and knocked them out with heavy punches.

"Let's get them outside and call Lance." Oliver said to Roy, who nodded and picked up Cable as Oliver grabbed Blood.

Dig had insisted Felicity lay down and at least try and rest for a few minutes. He had said it in such a no nonsense tone that Felicity hadn't dared to argue with him. Not after she had scared him half to death by taking off on her own. She hadn't realized how tired she was until her head hit the pillow. She inhaled the scent that she had come to associate with Oliver and before she knew it, was sleeping deeply.

Oliver had called Lance and Cable and Blood had both been picked up with the recording of what they had done. He thanked Roy and Diggle for all their help and went to check on Felicity. He felt a strange sensation in his chest at the sight of her in what had been his bed for months. Oliver hadn't been able to bring himself back to the mansion because of what Felicity had told him about his mother, but Felicity needed sleep, rest, and a sense of security. She could no longer get that from her apartment and he completely understood and knew he needed to take her home. Oliver texted Thea and asked her to be ready for them and that he would explain everything later. She already knew everything about him being the Arrow and Felicity being his assistant. She had been hounding him for months to just get over whatever issues he had and be with her. Thea had insisted on staying with Roy and said there wasn't a thing in the world that could pull her away from him. She had told him to give Felicity the same chance. He had finally listened, mostly due to Felicity making him, and was ready to embrace whatever challenges they would have to face. Oliver hated waking Felicity but knew he needed to ask what she wanted to do first. He put a hand to her shoulder, avoiding the cut on her collarbone and the bruising on her cheek. He gently shook her and her eyes slowly opened as she gave him a sleepy smile.

"Hi." Oliver whispered,

"Mmm. Hi back." Felicity smiled in return.

"I hate to wake you, but I want to take you back to the mansion tonight. Thea and Roy are already there. I'll just feel safer if I have you on my own turf in case anyone were to try and-"  
"Oliver, you don't have to convince me. I'll go with you." Felicity smiled as she got up.

They made their way back to the mansion and Thea and Roy were waiting to greet them as the doors opened. Thea was almost in tears at the sight of Felicity and made a cautious step towards her, wanting to hug her but not wanting to hurt her any more. Felicity gave her a smile and closed the distance between them, pulling Thea into her arms. The girls held each other for a few moments as Thea turned and began leading Felicity up the stairs. She looked back at Oliver and Roy at the base of the stairs.

"I'm taking her up to get settled in your room Oliver. Don't take too long down here, boys."

Oliver and Roy spoke about the events of the night and what Oliver was going to do about Blood. Oliver just told Roy not to worry about it and that he would deal with it. They both headed up the stairs towards the women who were waiting for them.

Oliver woke before Felicity the next morning and decided against waking her. She needed the extra rest. He left her a note, letting her know he was going to run a few errands and grab them breakfast and then he would be back. He asked that she not leave the mansion until he returned. And at the bottom of the note, he had written _Love, Oliver._ That was something he hadn't quite gotten used to yet, but at the same time felt a tightness in his chest loosen at writing the words. A sense that all was right with the world, even if it was just in those few precious seconds.

Obviously, Blood hadn't stayed in jail long, not with all the money he had at his fingertips. Oliver found him in his office, as though nothing from the previous night had happened. The only difference now being he had a nice shiner and some other various cuts and bruises that could be seen. Oliver had to hide a smile so as not to give himself away. He knocked quietly on the office door and Blood looked up from his desk and regarded Oliver silently as he waved for him to enter.

"I'm assuming you're here regarding what you heard about last night?" Blood said tiredly.

"That would be a good assumption." Oliver tried to say it without any definitive emotion.

"Well, then, what is there left to say?" Sebastian narrowed his eyes at Oliver in question.

"Just a thing or two. The first being that if you ever come near Miss Smoak again, yourself or through someone you've hired, the Arrow will be the least of your problems I can assure you. The second being if you ever step foot near my company, electronically or otherwise, I will find out about it and I will make you pay for it." Oliver said it in a dangerous growl.

"Understood." Blood said it resignedly. As though he expected the words and knew he had lost. But could it be that easy? Would the man really give up what he had been planning all because of one ass kicking and being verbally berated by someone he had come to think of as a friend? Oliver doubted it but walked towards the office door to leave anyway. He stopped himself as he got to the threshold and turned his head back one more time.

"There is one other thing." Oliver said it without turning back to face him.

"What's that?"

"Our partnership, our _friendship_, is over. We are done." Oliver then turned and walked back out the way he had come.

Oliver opted to walk for a while to think everything through. It was a beautiful day out and he felt he could use the fresh air. He had lost a friend and gained an enemy, but at least he had a group of people to rely on. One particular blonde stuck out of that group. Oliver wasn't worried about whatever it was that Blood was going to do next. Not as long as he had Felicity, John, Roy and Thea at his side. As the Arrow and as himself. He smiled as he thought about the fact that he even had Lance asking the Arrow for help and accepting that man that was Oliver Queen. That was mostly due to his relationship with Felicity, but he would take what he could get. There wasn't anything in the world that could stop him and Felicity. He finally came to a stop on the sidewalk and hailed a cab, ready to head home to the woman he loved. _Home. Woman he loved._ Those were definitely things he could get used to.

_**Okay, I hope you guys liked it and I am really sorry that it took me so long to update it and to finish it! Thank you so much for all the favorites, follows, reviews, and private messages! You guys have been so encouraging and I really appreciate it! You are the reason this turned from a one shot into a three shot! Happy Reading!**_


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